Chapter 25: The Sky That Finally Breathed**
The island was quiet now.
Not the silence of fear.
The silence of peace.
For the first time, the Tree stood again. Small, golden, no taller than a child. But alive. The wind no longer roared. It whispered through the leaves, carrying something new across the water.
Hope.
Abraham stood beside it, no longer burning. His fire had quieted, not vanished. It rested within him now like a breath between prayers.
Saral watched the leaves move. They shimmered with soft light, pulsing gently as if the Tree was listening.
Reuel sat near the shore, watching the sea, saying nothing.
Back in Zion, everything was breaking.
The Choir had been recalled. The towers no longer sang. The Seals had vanished from their prison vaults, each one dissolving into flame the moment the Ark reopened.
And Lior—
He had disappeared.
The Ecclesia had no leader now.
Only fear.
But the people began to speak.
In the streets.
In the markets.
In the schools once run by flamebearers.
They told stories.
About a boy from the far edge of nowhere who did not destroy them, even though he could.
About a girl who carried the Ark and never used it to punish.
About a Tree that rose without permission.
And about a fire that chose love.
At the center of Zion, a small group of former saints gathered at the ruins of the Ecclesia Hall.
Among them stood Seraph Nine, once silent, now speaking.
It is over, she said.
Not in ruin.
In rebirth.
But we must never rebuild the Church.
We must remember instead.
Back on the island, Abraham and Saral knelt before the Tree.
We have to leave soon, she said softly.
He nodded.
People will come. From every corner. Not just to see it. To follow it.
He touched the bark.
Then we must teach them not to follow the Tree.
But to grow their own.
The Ark pulsed again.
A final message appeared in the air above them.
Not words.
A map.
Scattered lights across the world.
Old Tree sites.
Hidden.
Asleep.
Waiting.
The world had more roots than anyone had known.
Saral looked at him.
Are we going to them?
We are not done yet, Abraham said.
We are the first seed.
The Gate is open.
Not for war.
For return.
He turned to her.
Are you ready?
She smiled.
I was born ready.
They stood hand in hand.
The Tree behind them.
The world before them.
And the Flame, for the first time, free.
End of Chapter 25